On the eastern shore of the Cotentin peninsula, in Normandy, the little port of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue looks out at a low island called Tatihou, and on the island and on the headland of La Hougue stand two stout stone towers designed by Vauban, the military engineer of Louis XIV. They belong to the group of Vauban fortifications that UNESCO inscribed in 2008, and they are among the least known of the twelve sites.
The towers were built in the 1690s after a defeat. In May 1692 the French fleet, sent to cover an invasion of England, was beaten off Cap Barfleur by the combined English and Dutch fleets, and the damaged French ships took refuge in the bay of La Hougue, where they were attacked and burned. Vauban came in person soon afterwards and designed a new defence, a pair of strong towers on either side of the bay, tall cylinders of granite with thick vaults to carry cannon. Tatihou can be reached on foot at low tide, or by a small amphibious vehicle that crosses the sand, and it also has a maritime museum and a bird sanctuary. Check the tide times before you go.
The countryside around is gentle and green, with stone farms, apple orchards and hedged fields, and the coast roads between Barfleur, Saint-Vaast and Quettehou are narrow and scenic, with only occasional traffic in the shoulder season. The wind from the Channel is strong, and rain showers pass quickly. In July and August the roads fill with holidaymakers. Utah Beach, one of the landing beaches of June 1944, lies about twenty-five kilometres to the south-west, with a museum and a long, flat shore.
Saint-Vaast is known for its oysters, farmed in the bay, and for mussels, and the quay is lined with restaurants that serve them with white wine and bread. The village has two thousand people and a few fuel stops, but Valognes, nineteen kilometres inland, has a larger choice and is a handsome town with fine eighteenth-century houses, once called the Versailles of Normandy. Pick a day in late spring or early autumn, when the light is soft and the crowds are small, and bring a waterproof jacket.